TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang filed House Bill (HB) No. 1291 which seeks to establish the Kalinga Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, defining its purposes and objectives and appropriating funds for the said facility.
Mangaoang said the Kalinga Heritage Museum and Cultural Center will be based in this city and will serve as the institutional medium for the collection, preservation, and enhancement of the cultural, artistic, archeological, social, religious and philosophical heritage of the Kalinga land and the people in view of the richness of their legacies and of their relevance to their contemporary and future aspirations.
For purposes of implementation of its desired activities and functions, the Kalinga lawmaker said the Kalinga Heritage Museum and Cultural Center will be authorized to give emphasis to compile the musical notes and lyrics of Kalinga traditional songs, ballads, and contemporary music compositions by Kalingas and to collect samples of musical instruments of Kalinga origin, design and manufacture and to acquire and display a varied range of Kalinga arts and artefacts; publish and disseminate Kalinga literary works, epics, stories and historical accounts; compile Kalinga literature, film, or audio-visual recordings of cultural performances and music, dances, oral literature, and festival celebrations; compile epigrams, proverbs, legends and the origin and etymology of Kalinga words, names of barangays, towns and other places of interests in their respective history; gather and document Kalinga religious practices and traditions, and the background and origin of Kalinga fiestas and festivals; compile photographs of and showcase by appropriate exhibits, Kalinga landmarks, historical sites and scenic views and gather specimens of archaeological findings, to collect stones, rocks and other geological materials and to preserve by appropriate methods, samples of flora and fauna indigenous to the Kalinga province.
Under the Mangaoang proposed bill, the Kalinga provincial government shall provide the land that shall be necessary for the put up of the Kalinga Heritage Museum and Cultural Center as well as the annual expenses needed to carry out its operation and activities.
Mangaoang proposed the budget department shall, by way of national government start up assistance, incorporate in the national budget or from other funding sources, P10 million which shall be earmarked and disbursed to the Kalinga provincial government for the construction and establishment of the Kalinga Heritage Museum and Cultural Center’s main building that will house the intended museum in accordance with the objectives of the bill.
Further, the Kalinga provincial government with the assistance of the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) shall also provide supplementary budget for capital outlays and other financial and technical support to the Kalinga Heritage Museum and Cultural Center.
Kalinga has already been declared as a tourism development area by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 10561 and it has a very rich cultural heritage handed down from generations but there is no official repository to house its historical items, artefacts and relics of the past and that there is no established institution to preserve, compile, display and disseminate information about Kalinga culture, its literature, origin, history, legends, religious practices and all other documents relative thereto. By HENT
